Stronger than surrounding forces
by Happuch
Summary: A take on what has happened between Lux&Eric in the hotel room in 'plumber cracked' 2x08 and maybe more...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Thanks Tash, I owe you." Lux hangs up and goes back to Eric who's signing a form with the name John Miller. „Tasha vouches for as but she's not happy. Are you sure you can move the charge without Cate knowing? » Turning to her, Eric nods. A nervous look in his eyes "Sara they need your signature as well." Lux looks at him for a second. Should she take the same last name? They could be married for one night. No, she isn't wearing a ring, he isn't wearing a ring. Better not attract too much attention. Sara Howard she writes.

Their room is small, very small; most of the space is taken by a huge double bed. There is one other door in the room, which probably leads to the bathroom. Eric looks at the bed then at Lux. He seems to be unsure about what to do next. „Well… it's cosy isn't it?" he says trying to cover up his insecurity. „Yeah, definitely much better than many places where Tasha and I slept when we had sneaked out of Sunnyvile from time to time. Did you know that trash bags can actually be quite comfortable?" They both try to fake a laugh. The air around them seems to be loaded. Eric slowly walks around the bed and hangs his jacket over the only chair in the room. But just after he takes it up again. „You know what? It's not that late just now and we haven't eaten dinner. Let's go grab something." – „Don't tell me you're hungry! After all that food we ate at the wedding? I still don't know how we managed to actually dance instead of roll on the floor." – „You're right. I'm not really hungry…" Somehow the mentioning of crushing that wedding together and dancing together helps to ease the atmosphere a little. „Okay so let's watch something." suggests Lux pointing towards the old mini-CRT TV hanging on the wall opposite to the bed.

While Eric puts down his jacket again, Lux climbs on the bed and places the beautiful bridal flowers next to her in the middle of the bed. "I'm gonna check out our little bathroom. Choose whatever you like to watch." Lux knows that he still isn't at ease with the whole situation but they have to make the best out of it. With a sad look in her eyes she thinks of how nice this day has been and how it seems that it always has to change for the worse. Things are complicated. But will there never be an end to this? With a sigh she takes up the remote and turns on the TV.

Through the door of the bathroom Eric hears Lux zip through different channels until she settles on an episode of The Simpsons. What is he doing here? It isn't the first time today that he has asked himself this question. Actually the question pops up continuously in his head since the camping trip. Since he has given in… Given in to that wonderful blonde girl sitting on the other side of the door. He never thought he would ever be one of these teachers who cross barriers but Lux is different, not only compared to her classmates but also to every women that he has ever been interested in. Like today at the wedding. He remembers her dancing wildly and turning around herself while he had just looked at her. She's been through so much already, still she has kept this…this lust for life. And she's beautiful. Inside and outside. So thoughtful and - Stop it Mr. Daniels! Your _student_ is out there and you're about to sleep next to her in a double bed. What are you gonna do? Eric scratches his head. He wishes he could give himself an answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm from Switzerland and I learned English in school and from movies, so sorry for any wrong tenses or words or anything... Hope you like my story. Enjoy! **

**Chapter 2**

The TV hasn't offered anything interesting so they soon decide to turn it off and go to bed. Or at least kind of go to bed. As they haven't got a toothbrush or anything else and Eric doesn't want them to take off any of their clothes, they just lie down on the bed as they are. The bridal flowers between them.

They listen to each others breath and know that neither of them will be able to sleep because of the unsaid questions and the restrained feelings that linger between them. The minutes seem not to pass by. After what feels like forever Eric is the first to break the heavy silence saying out loud what he has been thinking since they got into the hotel room. "This is really, really wrong." – "We're not doing anything other than breathing and not moving." Lux tries to contradict him. "Except spending the night together in a hotel under assumed names?" She knows exactly what he means. She realised before how bad this looks from the outside. But she can't let him feel her own fear. He's troubled enough already. "There's that" she states as cool as possible.

Eric falls silent again. But he's not finished yet. Something else is on his mind. Of course he's worried about Lux's parents or the school board finding out about this, but he's also worried about... "Lux I don't wanna be hot and cold, so, um, don't think that's what I'm doing." Lux wants to move, to get out of this tension. All she does is to put her arm next to her face. Like a barrier. "Eric..." – "No… As a guy that likes you and wants to spend every minute I can with you, missing that ferry was the greatest thing that could happen. But as a guy that is supposed to be responsible, that is supposed to be looking out for you…" Eric pauses. The feelings inside of him seem to tear him apart. Yes, he wants to be with her. And he has to confess to himself that he wants to be with her in more than one way. These feelings are wrong! He leans slightly towards her. "Lux, I'm your teacher. We can't pretend to be other people and lie to your parents, lie to ourselves and escape to an island every weekend just to be together…" Oh man she looks so beautiful right now. He forces himself to look away from her before he says _it._ "We don't have a future together." It's out. He has said what he should have said from the beginning on. What he has known deep down all along. "We're not John and Sara. At the end of the day we are still ourselves." Lux feels the conflicting emotions shaking him. She looks into his eyes but what she sees in them isn't 'I wanna get out'. She sees fear of her reaction, fear of losing her. "I know." – "Do you?" He searches her eyes for more answers. "Think about it Lux. Is this really ever gonna be enough for you? Because the last person's heart I wanna break is yours." Everything's out now. Exhausted Eric lies back on his side of the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Here's my next chapter which I dedicate to _luvcaitlynluv_ who wrote the first review to my very first fan fic! Thank you and YES I'll keep writing. **

**Chapter 3**

Silence again. Except that this time it's a different silence. The questions have been asked. Lux thinks about his eyes, about the fear she's seen in them. It makes her angry. Not only his look but all he said. He acts as if it had only been his decision. But the actions of both of them had brought them here. He just didn't see that.

What is she thinking? Eric feels even worse than he did before his monologue. Just now he realises how much Lux means to him. He feared something might happen in this hotel room that he would regret ever after. Now he fears that he has just done something he'll regret, that maybe nothing is ever going to happen because of what he's said. What if she walks away from him? It would be the best for her. He would have to let her go for her own sake. He can't think about himself. He can't! But when he's not thinking about himself then he's thoughts wander automatically to her and… to her face, to her body. Even during these intense moments before Eric couldn't help but realise how wonderful her eyes look when they're serious and how her breasts were moving steadily up and down under that tiny dress which he's been admiring the whole day. He forces himself not to turn and look at her. She's so close. Just the bridal flowers between them. Nearly as if it was their own wedding night, he suddenly thinks. The thought makes him shiver.

Eric's movement lets the bridal flowers shift so that they touch Lux's leg. The wedding. Her own short engagement with Bug crosses Lux's mind. Eric helped her back then. He's a guy who always wants to do the right thing and right a wrong. That's why he troubles himself so much with their relationship. She's the exception. With her his feelings are stronger than his judgment_. I'm the exception_. The anger falls away from her. Instead she feels how strong her emotions for him are. True emotions, he doesn't force her to do anything. He's her boyfriend after all, 'the guy who likes her' and she's his girlfriend who wants to show him that she likes him back no matter what or who awaits them out there tomorrow. Suddenly very determined she leans towards him.

"Eric." He looks up to her with his deep blue eyes. "I know you asked me a serious question. And I will think about it. I promise. But for now we should cherish what we have here. We can be together and we can't change that we're spending the night in this hotel room. Please couldn't we try to enjoy this time? If you want to sleep that's okay, but give me at least a good night kiss. _I_ need to feel you by my side or I won't be able to shake everything off and fall asleep." Eric is still looking up to her. A kiss. That should be okay. They had kissed before and if she needs it to sleep… After all she seems to take his concerns seriously. Again he thinks that he might lose her. In that case it would be better to have kissed her at least one more time.

"Come here." Eric covers her chin with his fingers and pulls her to him. Their lips touch. Just a short good night kiss. But both hesitate to part their lips. Instead Eric opens his mouth, let's her come closer. Their kiss deepens. The questions, the fear and the desires from before unload into this moment and take over. He puts his arms around her and pulls her whole body towards him. She now lies on his upper body. She's so slight, he hardly feels her body's touch except for her small breasts. He clearly feels them on his chest. His hands wander to her back and search a way under the black stripes of her dress. Lux moans gently when he touches her skin. For the first time

she can feel him, really feel him and be close to him. Their lips have to part as they gasp for air. Lux starts kissing his cheek, she follows the line of his chin down to his neck with her lips. He allows his hands to wander down the seam of her dress. Lux wants yet to be closer and moves her legs. Her shriek makes his hands stop immediately. With a puzzled face Lux looks down her legs and back to Eric. "The flowers – they just pricked me." She says with a surprised laugh. The flowers. Eric remembers his thought from before about their wedding night. But this isn't their wedding night! He can't do this to her. Lux sees his expression change. Before it had been full of desire, full of wanting. Now his face becomes serious as if someone had pulled him out of a nice dream. "Lux…" He puts his hand around her shoulders and pushes her back. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Lux. I shouldn't have done this. I got carried away." He stands up as fast as he can. "You can have the bed, I'll sleep on the floor. "But Eric…" – "No Lux, please."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay... I took a short and absolutely spontaneous holiday. Hope you enjoy the next chapter!**

**Chapter 4**

"Lux you stay here!" Cate yells for the second time. Lux turns around looking to Cate who's standing in the living room while Lux is in the hallway. "No, I wanna see Tasha. She feels like crap after what happened this morning. She needs me." Turning back Lux races out of the door before Cate can say anything else to stop her from leaving. Lux keeps walking fast even after she's around the corner from Cate's. It's not Tasha who feels like crap, it's her. How can she make up to her best friend for what Tasha did for her this morning? Lux knew that Cate would be upset but that she would punish Tasha as hard as she did still surprises her.

There she goes, Cate thinks. At the moment everyone seems to leave her or betray her. Now even Lux. Cate goes to the fridge and takes out a bottle of white wine. Pouring herself a glass she thinks about the therapy session of today. Would some time apart help her and Ryan to overcome their issues? She really isn't sure. During all these years it had been them being together that had helped her deal with her problems. Her screwed up family, finding Lux, even with Baze. But for the first time she now feels like having Ryan around her stops her from fighting because she has fought too much already. How long will this separation take? And will she get him back? This thought makes her suddenly realise that that's what she wants. In the end she wants to have him back. Not like he is now but how he used to be. A hero who's strong enough for the both of them. She would fight for what they had if he's willing to fight as well. Just not right now. Now she has to deal with feeling like a crappy mum and a bad guardian. She didn't even mind that Lux went to Tasha, she just tried to be strict. The truth is she feels guilty about her reaction this morning. Tasha really isn't a bad kid. But with everything else going on she couldn't stand another betrayal. Hopefully Lux could make up for it and the whole affair would be forgotten soon.

"Tasha it's me, please open the door." For the third time Lux knocks on the apartment door. She's sure that Tasha's in there. Unlike her Tasha follows all the rules Cate comes up with and makes every effort to fit in this new world. "What do you want?" Finally Tasha opens the door and Lux goes in as fast as possible not sure if her friend might otherwise change her mind and slap the door right in her face. "Tash…" Lux tries to embrace her friend but Tasha turns away. "Tash listen to me. I'm so sorry about today. You shouldn't have to suffer because of me. But believe me I would do the same for you." – "Yeah maybe you would. But I will never be dating a teacher so I guess you will never have to." Tasha emphasizes 'a teacher' in a way that shows how much she disapproves of Lux's relationship.

Lux looks at her friend and tries to read her mind. Despite her disapproval she had lied for her and Eric. Why? Because she cares – at least about Lux. This tension between them had to come to an end, after all they are best friends. "Well you know maybe you and Jones want to have some private time after homecoming. I could tell Cate that I'm sleeping here while you two sneak out to Estoria. You never know when you'll need an island!" Tasha allows a small smile on her face, she seems to be giving in. "Yeah you know, Jones and I don't need Estoria. I think I heard that it is actually okay for Highschool students to go to a hotel near by at homecoming. I mean, that's what normal kids do." She could never be angry at Lux for a long time. And Lux talking about Jones reminded her of how Lux had to deal with her being with him. "Peace?" Lux asks. "Yeah, peace." Finally the two friends embrace each other.

"You know Tash, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about…" They're now sitting on the couch flipping through some old magazines. The seriousness in Lux's voice makes Tasha look over to her friend. "I know you don't like it when I'm talking about it but… You're the only one who knows about me and Eric and you clearly don't like the idea of us being together but I could really use someone to talk to, so would you –" "No!" Lux lifts her head surprised at the strong reaction of her friend. "No Lux, I won't listen to your problems with Mr. Daniels. You made your bed there." Why on earth is Tasha so upset about her and Eric? "Ok, you won't talk with me about him, that's okay. But could we, um, meet in your apartment again? I need to talk to him soon. As you refuse to listen to me I can't tell you why but please can he come here?" Tasha stands up from the couch and walks over to the kitchen. From there she looks to Lux then takes a look around her whole apartment. With a sad look in her eyes she says. "Fine. He can come. When?" – "I don't know yet. But I'll text him and tell you. " Tasha nods. "You better go now or Cate will ground you as well." She says still staying in the kitchen while Lux takes her bag and leaves. No more words spoken between them. "That didn't go too well" Lux says to herself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Sooo I deliver the next chapter. Thanks go to Leppy99 who did really motivate me with her review! You probably noticed that I try to integrate all the main characters so sorry dear Lux&Eric fans that he's not in every chapter. But you'll get more couple action in the future I promise. Enjoy!**

**Chapter 5**

At the corner to Cate's house Lux's mobile phone vibrates, a message from Baze _"Hey kiddo. What are you doing tonight? Wanna grab take out with me?" _ Lux looks down on her mobile phone and over to Cate's house. It would be nice not to have to deal with Cate and not to discuss her leaving against Cate's will earlier this afternoon. On the other hand, is it fair to Cate with everything she has going on at the moment? Maybe being the good kid could help get out of Cate's focus for a while and that would help with Eric. Sh.. Eric! She types quickly _"Sorry can't make it tonight, studying…"_ and then another, more difficult message. "_Hey, I haven't heard from you, you alright? Can we meet at Tasha's?"_ Will he come? Lux sighs. When they woke up this morning he had barely spoken to her. She knows he isn't upset with her but every time he enters this zone where he just blames himself she fears that he might end things with her. And she can't get to him there. Or can she?

"Lux you're here! I was just about to call you to ask about your dinner plans." – "I stay here. Tasha isn't really up for company."Cate nods in understanding. "So you wanna eat? I thought Chinese takeout?" – "Chinese is great. But maybe later when Ryan's back too?" – "Suuure." Cate says stretching the word. She should probably tell Lux that Ryan wouldn't be coming home for some time. Cate was just about to open her mouth when Lux said "Hey Cate didn't you wanna try the bread machine you got for your wedding?" Lux forced a big smile on her face. Hopefully Cate would take the bate. "Um, yeah. You want to try it with me? I think we might even have the ingredients somewhere in the kitchen." While Cate walks towards the kitchen Lux feels her phone vibrate in her pocket. She takes it out. "Lux you coming? Help me look for the flour!" Lux puts back her phone. "Coming. Isn't it under the sink?"

After having found all the ingredients mother and daughter are standing in the kitchen filling them into the machine. "You know Cate people really seem to know you. Why else should they give you a bread machine? I mean who can't bake bread?" They both start laughing. "Hey that's mean! You think you're any better? Take that." Cate throws some flour at Lux who responds by scribbling some of the finished dough into Cate's face. They're about to start a real fight but their own laughter detains them. Gasping for air Lux says "We must be the only household in America in which the male residents cook better than the female ones." It should have been a joke but the smile on Cate's face vanishes instead there are tears starting to roll down her face. "Cate what - what did I say? You know Ryan isn't that good of a cook either…" – "Oh Lux, I'm sorry. I should have told you already…" – "What? What should you have told me?" Lux asks anxiously. What happened between Cate and Ryan? Did they seperate? She starts to panic. "Ryan isn't coming back for some time. The therapist thought it a good thing if we lived apart for a while. To figure things out." That's news! Lux takes a step back. "Wow, um, are you okay with that?" – "I guess I am. I need the distance but – I still miss him." Lux sees how more and more tears roll down her mother's face. "Cate, don't worry. I'm here." Realising the distance between them, Lux reaches out to Cate. She will be there for her. Of course she wishes for her little family to be complete, which would include Ryan. But right now Cate needs her. They embrace each other. "Cate you two will work things out, you always do."


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry for the delay again! I moved since the last chapter and started working so I was kind of busy... This is just everything I have right now maybe with more time I would have changed some things here and there. Nevertheless I hope you enjoy it!**

**Chapter 6**

With a sigh Lux sinks down on her bed. It had taken her all evening to calm down Cate. Not the kind of quality time she had intended to spend with her mum. They had ordered Chinese but with Ryan's empty chair starring at them none of them had felt hungry. After the failed dinner they wanted to watch a movie but their DVD collection consists either of love stories which were impossible to watch today or action movies which belong to Ryan, also impossible to watch. They settled on TV which wasn't much better. The only good that had come out of this evening was their bread. It looks really tasty. Tomorrow morning would reveal if their cooking skills had improved_. That would at least be something, _Lux sighs and starts to undress. She takes the phone out of her trousers pocket. The unread message from earlier comes to her mind. She checks the phone. The message is form Eric. Her fingers freeze before she can open the message. What if he had written that he wanted to end things with her?

In desperation Lux lays the phone back. She isn't ready to read whatever this message may contain. Her thoughts wander back to the day before. Their moment in the hotel room. It had felt so good to be with him. "_Will this ever be enough for you?"_ he had asked her and she promised him an answer. Lux is engrossed in thought when the phone vibrates again. With hesitation she takes it. A message from Tasha. All it says is "_When?"_ Obviously Tasha's still angry at her. When I've found an answer, Lux thinks, now slightly angry herself. The fight with her best friend makes everything even worse. In this moment in the car when Cate and Baze had confronted them with the bill from Estoria she felt like her feelings were tearing her apart. Put Tasha in an impossible position or lose Eric? She had known that she would never lose Tasha that's why she pleaded _her_ for help. She couldn't face losing Eric. Not when he's the first person that makes her feel complete. Like everything could be set in the right place one day. Lux smiles sadly. Just the man who makes everything feel right has to be the man against whom everything screams wrong. With new energy Lux picks up her phone again and opens Eric's message. _" When do you want to meet at Tasha's?"_ What a relief, Eric wants to see her. But again the question _when_. Definitely not tonight! She types _"Tomorrow after school? At 4?"_ The answer comes back immediately _"Ok. See you there."_ One thing's settled at last.

"Lux you ready? Baze will be here any minute!" Lux hears Cate yell from the bottom of the stairs. "I'm right there." With haste she grabs her bag and the books and climbes down the stairs. Oh no the hat! Lux had spent half an hour searching for the right outfit for today. She wanted to look nice for Eric but in the end she couldn't settle on something and out of frustration took just any blouse and trousers she had already worn the day before. And now she doesn't even have a hat. He will have to like me for my character not my looks, she thinks grimly while she walks over to Baze's car. "Morning kiddo! So have you soaked up all the wisdom of the world?" Lux looks at her father and tries to figure out what he means. "You still sleepy hm? I mean have you studied enough for today?" Oh right the text from last night that she sent him. She gives him a guilty little smile "Sure. I'm all set. But if you don't start driving it won't help me because I'm gonna be late!" – "Don't you worry. I always deliver you punctual, don't I? And besides instead of going to school we should be celebrating." With a surprised look Lux asks "Celebrate why?" Baze smiles like a little boy who had just gotten some candy. "Emma and I are back together!" – "What? That's great Baze. How did it happen?" They already pull into the parking zone of Westmonte High. Baze is preoccupied searching for an empty parking space. "Tell you later. Have a good day." Out of an impulse Lux leans toward her dad and gives him a kiss on his cheek. "Bye." Baze's surprised eyes follow his daughter as she gets out of the car and walks over to the school building.

Entering the hall of Westmonte High Lux spots Tasha in the hallway. But before she can reach her Tasha already moves away and into a classroom. Their make up conversation would have to wait. While Lux was sure that her and her best friend would be on good terms soon enough, the thought of talking to Eric makes her nervous. For the first time she wishes not to see him in school. What if he didn't give her that little smile that he seemed to reserve only for her? Looking around her Lux realises that the hallways are empty. She shakes the bad thoughts off her mind. Until it had really happened she would just not assume the worst. She hurries to her own classroom. As she enters her math teacher looks at her with a disappointed frown. "Lux you're late. Please try to be punctual next time instead of dreaming in the hallway." – "I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Lux mumbles and sits down.

During lunch break Lux withdraws to a corner of the school where there normally isn't anyone. It's near the garbage containers so most of the kids think it stinks too much. For Lux who has been at much worse places it's a welcome hiding spot. "I thought you'd be here." Lux sees a pair of worn-out converse and hears a familiar voice. She lifts her head "Tash what are you doing here?" – "I'm sorry Lux. I overreacted yesterday. I saw you standing in the hallway this morning looking like a weeping willow. I don't want be the cause of you turning into a tree!" Lux gives her friend a thankful look while she stands up and hugs her. "I'm so glad to have you back." – "You do know that you'll never get rid of me right?" Tasha pulls Lux away from her thinking spot. "Come on you can't be hiding here! You have nothing to be afraid of." Tasha leads them to a table near the entrance. Lux looks uncomfortably to the door knowing that Eric could walk out there any time. Tasha tries to ask her about Eric, probably still feeling bad about her reaction from the day before but Lux just shakes her head. She first has to talk to him it's too important. So the two girls spent the rest of their lunch break in silence.

Silence also accompanies Lux during her last two classes of the day. This isn't unusual for Lux she never sticks out in class and hardly ever talks to her classmates. But today it is worse than normally and the clock seems not to move while at the same time she dreads every minute that passes by. Caught up between her feelings she packs her things minutes before the bell rings and finally gets out of the room as fast as possible. From far behind she hears Jone's familiar voice "Lux do you-" She can't hear him anymore.


	7. Chapter 7

**Next chapter's here! It would be nice to here something from you every now and then positive or negative, short or long doesn't matter. But no pressure I'm happy about everyone who's still with me. Thank you guys.**

**Chapter 7**

3.57pm. Lux bites her lip. She wanted to be the first at Tasha's apartment! She even took a bus because it was supposed to be faster. In the end they had bad traffic and she was sure Eric would already be in the room. And with him Tasha who opens the door after Lux knocked. Tasha looks again pissed as she lets her in. Lux spots Eric sitting on the couch with a worried look on his face.

"Thanks for doing this again." Lux says unsecure about what's going on with Tash. Didn't they make up earlier today? It seems not she thinks when Tasha says with an angry voice "It's not like I have anything else to lose." Again torn apart between wanting to talk to Eric and fixing things with her best friend Lux pleads "Tasha…" but her friend is already half way out the door.

"Ahem. She's upset." Eric clears his throat. On and into the battle! Lux turns all her attention towards him. She searches her mind for all the words she has been lining up all day. They're gone. All there is is a feeling that she can't lose him. "Yeah. I mean she's risking a lot for us. And we are too." Eric doesn't say anything he waits for her to continue. Not sure how long this would take she sits next to him, trying to get hold of his eyes. "Eric for me it's worth it. Beyond worth it. I thought about what you asked me. If this was enough for me. And I know that we don't have islands and weddings and we aren't John and Sara but I don't care about the future... That's the thing about me. All my life I couldn't count on the future because I was too busy trying to keep what I had in the present from disappearing." Lux is overwhelmed by her own feelings as she realises this truth about herself. All this wasn't included in any of her prepared phrases. She takes a deep breath to prepare herself for the grand finale and whatever might follow it. "I don't want you to go anywhere. Because what I have right now is you. And what I want right now is you."

Eric sits still and looks at her. How will he respond? Maybe he has his own prepared phrases and maybe they're going into a very different direction? He opens his mouth but doesn't say anything. It seems as if he's fighting with himself. Finally he closes his mouth again and leans towards her. The kiss that follows frees Lux from her fears. Mutely they reassure each other that their feelings are unbroken. "You don't know how happy you make me." Eric stops the kiss and looks intensively at Lux. "I'm not sure what I had done if you had decided that it isn't worth it. " Completely surprised Lux stares at him. "I thought you would want to break up with _me_! After everything the other night…" – "Come here" Eric takes her by the shoulder and pulls her into his lap. "Listen to me. I won't leave you. I'm sorry about how that night went. Maybe I overreacted but you do understand why we need to keep a certain distance don't you? I don't want to take advantage of you in any way and I don't want anyone to think that I am. Especially not you." Putting her hand around his chin Lux says quietly "I know. Listen to me no one could ever think that you would take advantage of anyone. You're a good person."

They rest on the couch in silence. No more words needed. Eric looks down at her just glad that she is with him. They have to part far too soon because Lux needs to go home to Cate. They kiss each other long and deep before Lux walks out the door. Eric leaves a little later so no one would suspect something. He starts to walk through the darkening city. It would be much faster to take the car but he always walks to meet with Lux. This way he has some more time to remember their time together on the way back. He treasures their hours because he's never sure how many more there might be. He feels as though a part of her is still with him during the walk to his own apartment. As soon as he opens the door he will be sucked back into reality. This time a pile of papers to grade is waiting for him on his desk and the kitchen looks – as usual – like a mess. As the kitchen would be more patient than his students he sits down at the desk and takes up the first paper. An essay on ´How my hopes and wishes changed during Highschool´. Eric frowns. Why on earth did he pick this topic? He tries to focus. After correcting two essays he can't stand to read another one and puts away the third one. All he can think about is Lux's beautiful face framed by a wave of blonde hair laying in his lap. How might _her_ hopes and wishes change? The first two students had written in their essays that they found new prospects during these years and that they're trying to get rid of old ideas and stuff in order to become the people they now want to be. He might be "old stuff" as well. He feels so lucky to have Lux and yet so scared that it's all going away soon. Sitting at his desk he remembers all the sleepless nights he had while he had been Lux's tutor. He used to sit right here shaken by contradictory emotions. How often had he wished to be able to touch her and be near her? And how often had he called himself horrible things for having these feelings for an innocent young girl. Unfortunately the sleepless nights haven't stopped since he got together with her. There are times when he's sure that he has to break it off but every time he sees her he knows that he couldn't. And here she was today telling him that he's a good person. Could he be a good person even though he's in love with his student? Because that's what he is, he's in love with Lux. He finally has to admit it fully to himself. His feelings for her are deeper than he's ever felt before. After hearing her telling him that he's who she wants to be with he nearly slipped. But he can't tell her. It wouldn't be fair towards her. She shouldn't in any way feel pressured into being with him. With a sigh he pushes the essays away. His students would have to wait until next week and so would the kitchen. He decides to go for a jog to clear his mind.

After a slow start from his building up to the local parc Eric raises his speed to get his mind free of all thoughts. Even of Lux. He enjoys the fresh air. It's nice to be away from everything even if it's just for a short time. "Eric! Hey wait up man." Not recognising the voice behind him Eric turns his head to see who's calling him in the middle of the park. He sees Baze racing toward him causing him to lower his speed in shock. "Man you've got quite a speed!" Baze is slowing down as well and they fall into a comfortable jog for talking. "Hey Baze. I'm surprised you recognised me." Eric tries to give his voice strength. "Sure I did. I was just talking about you with Lux this evening." Trying to suppress a horrified look creeping up his face Eric asks quickly "Really? What about?" – "Well she decided to stop by my place before going to Cate for dinner and we talked about tutoring and some…other stuff." A big smile pops up on Baze's face as he mentions the _other stuff._ He told Lux all the details about getting back with Emma. "I didn't know that you're not her tutor anymore. Why the change?" Eric debates shortly with himself whether he should tell Baze about the possibility of Lux having a learning disability. Not the right time he decides. "I felt that a more experienced teacher might be better for her." – "I see. Still… Thank you for everything you've done for her. I think you already helped her a lot. She's a smart kid I'm sure she'll click soon. " The two men covered quite a distance during their talk. The park is way behind them and they're near Baze's house. A little out of breath Baze asks "You wanna come up and drink a beer? Math should be there too." Again Eric is debating inwardly. He likes Baze and he likes Math but he's not sure he could spend a whole evening with the father of his sixteen years old girlfriend. Suddenly he's glad he didn't finish correcting the essays earlier. "That would be great but I have a pile of papers to grade. Sorry man, but thanks anyway." – "Another time. See you." Somewhat relieved Eric jogs the last bit to his apartment. Of course he knows that after this encounter he wouldn't get anything done.


End file.
